More Topics

Weather Forecast

Blue Devils shutout Park Rapids Area

Prairie Centre's Kylee Hopp fires a puck on goal. Park Rapids Area's Kylee Pachel made the save, using her mask, keeping the game scoreless at that point. Jason Groth/Pioneer Journal

Kayla Sayovitz scored three times in helping the Prairie Centre Blue Devils capture a 5-0 victory over the Park Rapids Area Panthers on Jan. 23 in Wadena.

The victory improves the Blue Devils to 11-11-0 on the season and 4-2 in the Mid-State Conference. The Blue Devils surged early and often against the short-handed and youthful Park Rapids Area team.

Gabby Olson had a big night as well, scoring a goal and recording four assists. Olson is the runaway scoring leader for the Blue Devils with 34 points. She has scored 18 goals and has helped on 16 goals.

Shelby Otted started the scoring in the first period when she crashed the net for a loose puck. Kylee Pachel made the initial stop and Otte crashed the net, firing the puck into the yawning net.

Sayovitz followed with her first of three goals. Otte and Olson assisted on the goal when Sayovitz fired it past Pachel.

Olson continued her assault on the scoresheet when she scored a short-handed goal in the second period, giving the Blue Devils a commanding 3-0 lead.

Sayovitz added a pair of goals in the third period, recording the hat-trick. It was her fifth and sixth goals of the season. Olson assisted on both goals in the period, while Otte assisted on the first and Reece Ritter helped on the second.

Mackenzie Och was strong in between the pipes for the Blue Devils. She finished with 24 saves on 24 shots. She came up with a key momentum turning save in the first period when she blanked a breakaway attempt from Tara Johanning.

Pachel finished the game with 19 saves on 24 shots in the loss for Park Rapids Area.

The win gaurentees the Blue Devils will finish second in the conference with a 4-2 mark. Northern Lakes has captured the conference title with a 5-1 mark. Detroit Lakes finished third at 3-3, while Park Rapids Area ends the conference season with an 0-5 mark.

The Blue Devils travel to Willmar on Jan. 25, before returning home for a pair of games with Crookston and Minneapolis. Both games are in Long Prairie.

Groth is a Minnesota Newspaper Association award-winning Sports Editor of the Perham Focus and the Wadena Pioneer Journal. Groth worked in Grand Rapids as the Sports Director at KOZY/KMFY radio for two years and prior to that he was the Sports Editor/Writer for the Grand Rapids Herald-Review for seven years.